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The Basque separatist movement had its roots in the early 1900s when the Spanish government revoked the "fueros". Fueros gave Basque citizens a unique position in Spain with special tax and political status; additionally, Basques didn't have to serve in the Spanish army. The separatist movement, however, didn't begin to evolve until 20 years into the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.
Basque separatists want a fully independent state consisting of the Basque Autonomous community (Álava, Vizcaya and Guipúzcoa), the Autonomous Community of Navarra and the Pyrénées-Atlaniques (Labourde, Basse-Navarre and Soule), for a total of seven. The Pyrénées-Atlantiques are located in southwestern France and border the four Spanish Basque provinces.